


Aftermath

by thatonewriterchick



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Battle of the Twilight Gap, Boxing & Fisticuffs, Break Up, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 14:59:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15687753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonewriterchick/pseuds/thatonewriterchick
Summary: After the Twilight Gap, another battle ensues.





	Aftermath

Zavala did not want to go back inside. Somehow, standing in the cooling night air, eyes stinging from the battle’s lingering smoke and having to stare down at the dishearteningly few scattered lights of the City below was better than being in that room. It was sprinkling, a drop bouncing off his cracked shoulder plate, another catching his ear. Not so far in the distance, thunder grumbled promise of a storm.

He had to go back to storm inside.

He stiffened his spine and relished in the aches the subtle shift produced. Every Guardian who had survived the Twilight Gap felt it – the lingering complaint of a body that had been revived many times over in a short time. He was alive and it was a bittersweet sting of a reminder. So many had been lost…

The commander stared out over the dim City, trying not to think of how long it had taken them to bring in the dead. To identify those who had been lost forever, to notify their families if they had any. To update the archives and fortify defenses and give support to citizens and Guardians.

The rain was falling steadily then, muting the smell of smoke.

Zavala turned and made his way inside.

They could be heard halfway down the hall, deep voices resonating through thick walls, sharp and angry. The few maintenance bots didn’t seem to notice, but that was why Zavala had chosen this part of the Tower. Everyone had experienced and seen enough loss to last many lifetimes.

Death was not the cause of this loss, but that made it no less painful to watch.

And in this time of emotional fragility, those in leadership positions needed to be seen as a source of strength and guidance.

Even when they were not strong and were as lost as everyone else.

He was outside of the door, typing in the key code and pressing his thumb to the receptor’s square of glass. Inside, the voices were overlapping, a maelstrom of fury and emotion that spilled into the hallway as the door sighed open.

“…no right,” Saladin was snarling. “You were out of line and could have cost us __everything__.”

Zavala moved to sit at the head of the table, rested his forearms on the sturdy wood and laced his fingers together. Neither of his brothers in arms spared him a glance.

Shaxx jabbed an accusing finger at his former mentor. “Your retreat would have __cost__  us everything,” he countered. “We were retreating to defeat, nothing else. You knew it, we all knew it.”

Saladin’s expression was hard, his eyes narrowed. “The retreat was to regroup and redirect our forces –“

“No!” Shaxx shouted, slamming his fist onto the table.

The thick wood snapped at the center, collapsing inward and Zavala rested his hands in his thighs, but said nothing.

“It was the six of us that allowed your plan to work.” Shaxx spoke the words with careful precision. “Us, holding the lines while you ran away, ran like you always-“

Saladin had moved, moved faster than Zavala expected. A flick of the wrist and one half of the table went soaring to the other end of the room, splintering into shards against the wall. The punch the older Iron Lord delivered left a dent in the younger man’s helm and that was that.

Fists and curses were flying, already damaged armor falling away in pieces of useless metal under the rage of the wrestling titans. Despite Shaxx’s height and heavier weight, Saladin was holding his own, taking blows and returning them with fervor. All the while, Zavala watched as they crashed into the remnants of the other half of the table, only moving to stay out of their path without leaving his seat.

“Maybe we should stop them.” Nima’s electric blue stare moved worriedly between the dueling pair and her Guardian.

“That’s not why we’re here,” Zavala said and his voice sounded faint and strained, even to him. “And it’s not my place.”

Saladin tackled Shaxx into the wall and the concrete gave way to the shape of Shaxx’s body. The taller man sent an elbow crashing into Saladin’s back and the older man grunted, his grip loosening enough to be kneed away.

Zavala was there to witness; as commander, he had to make sure no one else died today. The Light was limited after the battle, stretched thin and it was possible one of them would kill the other at least once before this was over. One Ghost would not be enough for a resurrection.

He had no right to speak on the matter they were bleeding over, however. Both men were right, but they were also wrong. The issue lay with Saladin’s obsessions with what ifs and Shaxx’s insistence on what was and how they dealt with them.

Or did not, as it were.

The fine hairs on Zavala’s arms were standing up as the static in the room began to build up. It had also grown noticeably warmer in the room as they continued without signs of stopping. There was irony in this, he realized, watching them. This was how their relationship had started, trading blows and debating on tactics. He had witnessed that as well.

Arc energy snapped around Shaxx’s fist as it slammed into Saladin’s chest, sending him crashing to floor. He recovered quickly, rising though Shaxx had not moved.

“Is that all you have?” Saladin taunted between pants.

“That’s all you can handle,” Shaxx returned, breathless. His nose was a bloody, broken mess in his face, but he did nothing more than smear blood away from his mouth.

They stood there glaring at one another, their heavy breathing filling the silence.

“You’re wrong,” Shaxx muttered finally. “The six of us saved the City. __Not__  your call to retreat.”

There was a stubborn set to Saladin’s jaw and for a long moment, he did not answer. His gaze finally swept the room, the wreckage of it all. He was staring at the crushed table when he said, “You never have trusted me.”

“I trust this,” Shaxx assured him, raising the fist he had struck Saladin with. It was already snapping with arc energy again. “ _ _This__  has never let me down.”

Saladin stood taller, winced as it was likely Shaxx had broken more than a few ribs. It was his turn to wipe the blood from his face and as he stared at Shaxx with the eye that was not swelling shut, Zavala felt the room’s temperature drop.

“We’re done,” Saladin murmured and the stiffness of the words, the resignation there was a blend of personal and professional.

Shaxx laughed, the sound bitter and amused. “Finally,” he said, turning away. “Something we agree on.”

He left without looking back.

Saladin’s shoulders sagged after the door closed behind the other titan. He looked about the room, as if seeing the wreckage for the first time. And at the opposite end, his second student still sitting, watching. Their gazes locked and there was a flash of regret in Saladin’s eye before he looked away, letting himself out.

Eventually Zavala waited a while, taking it all in. The destroyed table, the dented walls. A couple of chairs huddled in the far corner were the only survivors left unscathed. Yet another battleground where there had been too much loss to be considered a true victory.

Zavala rose and not even the ache in his body brought any comfort. He left the room, locked it behind him and put in an order for repairs. He went to his quarters and removed his armor, cleaned up and ate in a daze. The commander filed reports until early in the morning and settled into his bed for a couple of hours to stare at the familiar walls until sleep took him.

He had learned long ago that sometimes, the best way to deal with the aftermath was to pretend that everything was normal.

Even as the world around him crumbled away.

**Author's Note:**

> I wish there was more involvement with the characters as far as storytelling, especially with the history involving characters we already know. Since it's lacking, I just plug in holes with things like this haha.


End file.
